It's been awhile

It's been awhile since I posted to this Blog ... but not as long as the forty or so years since I watched the 1965 movie "Cat Ballou."

1965 was a long time ago. Many events have transpired since then. In 1965 I met my first wife; we married in January 1966; had a son in May 1967; and she died of Toxic Shock (the Tampon staph disease) in September 1968. A rapid succession of events -- events in rapid succession seem to be the hallmark of my life. But today the topic is politics ... not my personal history as it normally appears on the Shreknangst blog.

In 1965 we were protesting the Vietnam "War" which Congress was too cowardly to declare, or treat, as a real war. It was just a way for the Republicans to show they were "anti-communist", and attempt at a feel-good conflict to offset the dramatic defeat suffered via the Korean Conflict.

Korea was a joke -- we achieved nothing. Technically that war continues -- though nobody wants to admit that it never concluded. A cease fire is not a conclusion. Fighters returning to neutral corners, or their own corners, is not an end to a fight ... it just marks a break between rounds. Half a century and North is still North and South is still South ... North is going nuclear and it's people are starving. South is going prosperous ... with us providing its defense. The North cannot take over the south .... they could not tolerate the economic freedom under their form of dictatorship. But, like many such peoples, the North believes in the most harm to the most numbers and so will attack when it can -- how else to harm the most people?

But Vietnam is the issue. Cat Ballou and its star Jane Fonda -- Hanoi Jane.

Hanoi Jane was correct; the Republicans were wrong. The republicans believe as the North Koreans -- they believe in inflicting most harm to the most numbers. That is why North Korea continues and we hear them whine about Vietnam (if they are given the opportunity).

The Republicans were anti-communist. But gee, the Russians were also very much anti-communist. In 1965, Russians were smuggling western good into their country and sell them at a profit. Over time, the Russians proved -- as they have historically always proved -- to be great capitalists. They know that the socialist base makes for fantastic capitalist opportunity. If people get uniform and uniformly superior education -- they prosper against capitalist nations which let their people struggle for uniform educational opportunities.

Socialism knows that a uniform base opportunity is the best foundation for those of exceptional skills to emerge.

When it comes to health -- a uniform health system -- without hoops or prior permissions and twenty percent denial rates for necessary and "paid for" services -- When it comes to health, the socialist model seen in France & England (or Russia and Cuba) works. More important, it produces a healthier society at half the cost.

Healthy people are productive people.

We don't need to worry. This recent recession has exposed what unlimited and unrestricted fraud -- in the name of a free economy -- can do to a nation. Worse for us, it can only get worse. We have not learned. We have not learned from the destruction of Detroit following the collapse of the auto industry. They saw fuel efficient cars as a non-profit item. Energy consumption was "pay no attention" item. If we can make short term profits -- screw the next generation. It is all about producing, and profiting from, the most harm to the greatest numbers.